Fundiin, a Vietnamese buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) business, said that it has raised US $1.8 million in an oversubscribed seed round.
A number of new and current investors participated in the round, including Genesia Ventures and JAFCO Asia from Japan, Trihill Capital and 1982 Ventures from Singapore, and Zone Startups Ventures from Vietnam.
Fundiin’s newest fundraising was also sponsored by certain former executives of global BNPL behemoth Affirm (Xffirmers).
Fundiin plans to use the funds to grow its operations, improve its executive team, and go through with its Series A round, according to a news release.
Fundiin began as a digital payment solution provider in 2018, with CEO Cuong Anh Nguyen and CTO Nam Hoang Vo targeting Vietnam’s 97 million people and increasing middle-class consumers. Later in mid-2020, the firm began offering a free BNPL option to customers at the point of sale. Customers can pay in installments with or without interest while paying providers the total cost upfront using this technique.
“Lending products have earned a bad reputation as money-draining traps that leave consumers stuck in a cycle of debt,” Fundiin CEO and co-founder Cuong Anh Nguyen, stated. “Vietnamese consumers are in urgent need of products like Fundiin that work for them and protect their interest.”
Fundiin claims to have worked with over 100 merchants, including well-known brands like Lug, Vua Nem, Mat Viet, and Giant International. Without using a credit card or an application, it claims to have increased retailer sales by 30%.
Fundiin also partnered with Sapo, a Vietnamese B2B e-commerce business, in July to offer the BNPL payment option to Sapo’s 100,000 merchant clients at checkout.
Because it is “faster, simpler, and free for customers,” BNPL is gaining traction amid other payment alternatives such as credit cards, installment loans, and mobile wallet lending products. This approach has long been popular across the world, but it has only recently gained traction in Southeast Asia, with success stories such as PayLater in Indonesia and Atome and Hoolah in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia.
In the midst of the epidemic, the approach is poised for a boom, as it may help customers make the transition to online purchasing. According to JP Morgan, Vietnam’s e-commerce is expected to grow 19% each year through 2021, encouraging foreign investors to invest in the BNPL industry.
FinAccel, the parent company of Indonesia’s BNPL behemoth Kredivo, launched a joint venture with local investment firm Phoenix Holdings last month, signaling its ambition to enter the Vietnamese market.
